Gaming machine including a lottery ticket dispenser

ABSTRACT

A gaming machine may include a printer or a lottery ticket dispenser adapted to provide lottery tickets to a player. At various times during operation of the gaming machine, the gaming machine via screen prompts may ask the player if he or she wishes to purchase lottery tickets, which, if desired, the machine will then dispense to the player. The lottery tickets may be tickets for an intracasino lottery, an intercasino lottery, a state lottery or a multistate lottery. The payment for the lottery tickets may be deducted from the value that the player has within the gaming machine.

RELATED APPLICATION DATA

[0001] The present application is a continuation-in-part of co-pendingU.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/097,507, which was filed on Mar. 12,2002.

BACKGROUND

[0002] Electronic gaming machines of various types such as, for example,slot machines, video poker machines, video keno machines, videoblackjack machines and that like, are known. Typically, casinos or otherentertainment facilities include numerous electronic gaming machines ofvarious types to accommodate the varying preferences of guests. Forexample, a casino may include a variety of electronic gaming machinesthat may be, but are not necessarily, linked to one another via anetwork.

[0003] In one form, lotteries, which may be operated by states or otherpublic or private organizations, are arranged into various segmentscalled drawings. For example, a state lottery may have a weekly or dailydrawing and, therefore, there is a possibility of a new lottery winnereach week or each day, respectively. Before a lottery drawing, lotterytickets bearing numbers, letters or other indicia are sold to those whowish to play that lottery drawing. After all the tickets for a drawingare sold, balls, tags or other items having numbers, letters or otherindicia printed thereon are randomly drawn from a hopper or frommultiple hoppers. As items are drawn from the hopper or hoppers, theindicia on each items is noted and a holder of a ticket having indiciathat match each of the indicia on the items drawn from the hopper orhoppers is a winner. For example, a ticket having 11-24-35-46-52 printedthereon would be a winning ticket if five items each bearing one of theindicia 11, 24, 35, 46 and 52 were pulled from a hopper or from multiplehoppers.

[0004] For lower payoff drawings, tickets typically have a fewer indiciathereon and fewer items are drawn from the hopper. Additionally, forlower payoff drawings, the number of possible indicia may be rathersmall (e.g., 1 to 10). For example, a daily lottery drawing, which maypay out money on the order of thousands or tens of thousands of dollars,may have only four indicia (ranging, for example, from 1 to 10) printedon each ticket and items bearing the indicia may be drawn from the samehopper.

[0005] Conversely, high payoff drawings may have many indicia on aticket, each of the ticket indicia must match indicia on items drawnfrom a hopper or from multiple hoppers. High payoff drawings may have alarge number of possible indicia (e.g., 1 to 50 or 1 to 100). Forexample, a lottery like Powerball®, which is a multistate lottery, mayhave six or more indicia (ranging, for example, from 1 to 49) on aticket and may have a payout on the order of millions of dollars.Additionally, tickets for large lotteries, like the Powerball® lottery,may also include an additional marking or index (e.g. a Powerball®number) that must match a marking or index on an item drawn from adedicated hopper.

[0006] Along with the lotteries that determine a winner based on theoutcome of drawings, many states or other public or privateorganizations also provide what is commonly referred to as“scratch-offs” or instant lottery tickets. A scratch-off type lottery,is conducted by pre-printing tickets, that contain the necessaryinformation to determine whether that ticket is a winner. Theinformation may be covered by an opaque material that may be scratchedoff the ticket to reveal the information. The winning information isusually displayed in numerical form, or using other indicia, which allowa player to deduce whether he has won. A player can usually deducewhether he has won by evaluating the combination of several indicia. Forexample, a scratch-off game such as Change To Go® of the Illinoislottery, requires the player to combine six different money values. Ifthe combined values add up to over $1.00, the player wins the prizeprinted on the ticket. When purchasing the ticket the winning and prizeinformation is obscured by the opaque material until that material isremoved. The types of games played using the scratch-off technology islimitless and many different types of indicia may be used.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] In one aspect, the invention is directed to a gaming apparatus,including a display unit that is capable of generating video images, avalue input device, and a controller operatively coupled to said displayunit and said value input device. The controller further including aprocessor and a memory operatively coupled to the processor, wherein thecontroller is programmed to allow a person to make a wager and to causea video image to be generated on the display unit, where the video imagerepresenting a game. The controller is programmed to determine, afterthe video image has been displayed, a value payout associated with anoutcome of the game represented by said video image. The gamingapparatus further including, a lottery ticket dispenser being programmedto dispense lottery tickets bearing generated lottery indicia inresponse to a signal received from the controller. Additional aspects ofthe invention are defined by the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008]FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a gaming system;

[0009]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an embodiment of one of the gamingunits shown schematically in FIG. 1;

[0010]FIG. 2A illustrates an embodiment of a control panel for a gamingunit;

[0011]FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the electronic components of thegaming unit of FIG. 2;

[0012]FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an embodiment of a main routine that maybe performed during operation of one or more of the gaming units;

[0013]FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an alternative embodiment of a mainroutine that may be performed during operation of one or more of thegaming units;

[0014]FIG. 6 is an illustration of an embodiment of a visual displaythat may be displayed during performance of the video poker routine ofFIG. 8;

[0015]FIG. 7 is an illustration of an embodiment of a visual displaythat may be displayed during performance of the video blackjack routineof FIG. 9;

[0016]FIG. 8 is a flowchart of an embodiment of a video poker routinethat may be performed by one or more of the gaming units;

[0017]FIG. 9 is a flowchart of an embodiment of a video blackjackroutine that may be performed by one or more of the gaming units;

[0018]FIG. 10 is an illustration of an embodiment of a visual displaythat may be displayed during performance of the slots routine of FIG.12;

[0019]FIG. 11 is an illustration of an embodiment of a visual displaythat may be displayed during performance of the video keno routine ofFIG. 13;

[0020]FIG. 12 is a flowchart of an embodiment of a slots routine thatmay be performed by one or more of the gaming units;

[0021]FIG. 13 is a flowchart of an embodiment of a video keno routinethat may be performed by one or more of the gaming units;

[0022]FIG. 14 is an illustration of an embodiment of a visual displaythat may be displayed during performance of the video bingo routine ofFIG. 15;

[0023]FIG. 15 is a flowchart of an embodiment of a video bingo routinethat may be performed by one or more of the gaming units;

[0024]FIG. 16 is an exemplary flow chart of a lottery ticket routinethat may be performed by one or more of the gaming units;

[0025]FIG. 17 is an exemplary flow chart of a lottery ticket routinethat may be performed by one or more of the gaming units; and

[0026]FIG. 18 is an exemplary flow chart of a lottery ticket redemptionroutine that may be performed by one or more of the gaming units.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF VARIOUS EMBODIMENTS

[0027] Although the following text sets forth a detailed description ofnumerous different embodiments of the invention, it should be understoodthat the legal scope of the invention is defined by the words of theclaims set forth at the end of this patent. The detailed description isto be construed as exemplary only and does not describe every possibleembodiment of the invention because describing every possible embodimentwould be impractical, if not impossible. Numerous alternativeembodiments could be implemented, using either current technology ortechnology developed after the filing date of this patent, which wouldstill fall within the scope of the claims defining the invention.

[0028] It should also be understood that, unless a term is expresslydefined in this patent using the sentence “As used herein, the term‘______’ is hereby defined to mean . . . ” or a similar sentence, thereis no intent to limit the meaning of that term, either expressly or byimplication, beyond its plain or ordinary meaning, and such term shouldnot be interpreted to be limited in scope based on any statement made inany section of this patent (other than the language of the claims). Tothe extent that any term recited in the claims at the end of this patentis referred to in this patent in a manner consistent with a singlemeaning, that is done for sake of clarity only so as to not confuse thereader, and it is not intended that such claim term by limited, byimplication or otherwise, to that single meaning. Finally, unless aclaim element is defined by reciting the word “means” and a functionwithout the recital of any structure, it is not intended that the scopeof any claim element be interpreted based on the application of 35U.S.C. §112, sixth paragraph.

[0029] Referring to FIG. 1, a casino gaming system 10 may include afirst group or network 12 of casino gaming units 20 operatively coupledto a network computer 22 via a network data link or bus 24. The casinogaming system 10 may include a second group or network 26 of casinogaming units 30 operatively coupled to a network computer 32 via anetwork data link or bus 34. The first and second gaming networks 12, 26may be operatively coupled to each other via a network 40, which maycomprise, for example, the Internet, a wide area network (WAN), or alocal area network (LAN), via a first and second network links 42, and44.

[0030] The first network 12 of gaming units 20 may be provided in afirst casino, and the second network 26 of gaming units 30 may beprovided in a second casino located in a separate geographic locationfrom the first casino. For example, the two casinos may be located indifferent areas of the same city, or they may be located in differentstates. The network 40 may include a plurality of network computers orserver computers (not shown), each of which may be operativelyinterconnected. Where the network 40 comprises the Internet, datacommunication may take place over the communication links 42, 44 via anInternet communication protocol. In other examples, the network 40 maybe, but is not limited to, a private and/or proprietary network, atraditional lottery network, a casino network or an accounting network.Similarly, other types of protocols may be used to communicate over thecommunication links 42, 44, including, but not limited to, proprietaryserial based networking protocols.

[0031] The network computer 22 may be a server computer and may be usedto accumulate and analyze data relating to the operation of the gamingunits 20. For example, the network computer 22 may continuously receivedata from each of the gaming units 20 indicative of the dollar amountand number of wagers being made on each of the gaming units 20, dataindicative of how much each of the gaming units 20 is paying out inwinnings, data regarding the identity and gaming habits of playersplaying each of the gaming units 20, etc. The network computer 32 may bea server computer and may be used to perform the same or differentfunctions in relation to the gaming units 30 as the network computer 22described above.

[0032] A player tracking unit 45, which may be located in or near thegaming unit 20, may be utilized for communication of lottery informationbetween a lottery system 46 and the gaming unit 20. The lottery system46 may comprise several components (not shown), including a controllerthat may comprise a program memory, a microcontroller or microprocessor(MP), a random access memory (RAM) and an input/output (I/O) circuit,all of which may be interconnected via an address/data bus. It should beappreciated by those having ordinary skill in the art that thecontroller may include additional microprocessors. Similarly, the memoryof the controller may include multiple RAMs and multiple programmemories. It should also be appreciated that the I/O circuit may includea number of different types of I/O circuits. The RAM(s) and programmemories may be implemented as semiconductor memories, magneticallyreadable memories, and/or optically readable memories, for example.

[0033] Along with the lottery system 46, a host system or networkcomputer 22, may communicate with the various gaming units 20. Becausethe gaming units 20 may be produced by different manufactures, thegaming units 20 and host system 22 may not be compatible, and maytherefore have difficulty communicating information. The player trackingunit 45, in an effort to resolve the communication difficulty, may beimplemented into the network 12, 26 and 40, thereby providing, amongother capabilities, the ability to communicate between the gaming units20 and 30 and the network computers 22 and 32. The player tracking unit45 may be implemented as a physical device on or at the gaming unit 20,or may be implemented as a physical device within the gaming unit 20.

[0034] In another example, the network computer 22 may be able tocommunicate directly with the gaming unit 20, and the gaming unit 20 mayhave an associated virtual player tracking system 47, as shown in FIG.3. An exemplary virtual player tracking system 47, such as the onedeveloped by the assignee of this patent, is disclosed in U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 09/642,192 entitled “Gaming Machine with VirtualPlayer Tracking and Related Services,” which was filed was on Aug. 18,2000, and which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Thevirtual player tracking system 47 may be capable of a diverse range offunctions. The virtual player tracking system 47 for example, may becapable of printing tickets that have been authorized by the host system22 and which may contain individual authorization numbers. Through theuse of virtual player tracking systems 47, the gaming unit 20 mayexchange with the host system all necessary information including, forexample, authorization, verification and indicia information, to enablesafe and effective distribution of lottery tickets from gaming units 20.As shown in FIG. 3, the virtual player tracking system 47 may reside inthe gaming unit 20, additionally or alternatively, however, the virtualplayer tracking system 47 may reside the on one ore more of the networkcomputers 22, 32. In yet another embodiment, the lottery system 46, maycommunicate directly with the gaming unit 20, such that the gaming unit20 effectively becomes a lottery terminal able to dispense lotterytickets.

[0035] Although each network 12, 26 as shown in FIG. 1 includes onenetwork computer 22, 32, four gaming units 20, 30 and four playertracking units 45 it should be understood that different numbers ofcomputers, gaming units and tracking devices may be utilized. Forexample, the network 12 may include a plurality of network computers 22and tens or hundreds of gaming units 20, all of which may beinterconnected via the data link 24. The data link 24 may provided as adedicated hardwired link or a wireless link. Although the data link 24is shown as a single data link 24, the data link 24 may comprisemultiple data links.

[0036] Also shown in FIG. 1 are lottery system blocks 46, whichrepresent the various places at which each network 12, 26 may beconnected to the lottery system 46. For example, the lottery system 46may be coupled to any of the various network computers 22, 32, to thenetwork 40 or to the gaming unit 20. The lottery system 46 may, forexample, include, but is not limited to, a state or multistate lotterysystem. Such lottery systems may coordinate lottery drawings, providecommunications regarding winning numbers, attend to the distribution ofprizes and perform any other relevant functions.

[0037] The lottery system 46 may also include intercasino andintracasino lottery systems. For example, an intracasino lottery systemmay be responsible for lottery drawings in the casino in which thelottery system 46 resides. As will be readily appreciated, a casino mayrun a lottery having drawings that take place at regular intervals suchas, for example, every hour, twice a day, once a day or at any othersuitable interval. Additionally, multiple casinos may cooperate to runan intercasino lottery system in which multiple casinos sell lotterytickets and hold a single drawing or multiple drawings to determine thenumbers that define a winning ticket.

[0038]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of one possible embodiment of one ormore of the gaming units 20. Although the following descriptionaddresses the design of the gaming units 20, it should be understoodthat the gaming units 30 may have the same design as the gaming units 20described below. It should be understood that the design of one or moreof the gaming units 20 may be different than the design of other gamingunits 20, and that the design of one or more of the gaming units 30 maybe different than the design of other gaming units 30. Each gaming unit20 may be any type of casino gaming unit and may have various differentstructures and methods of operation. For exemplary purposes, variousdesigns of the gaming units 20 are described below, but it should beunderstood that numerous other designs may be utilized.

[0039] Referring to FIG. 2, the casino gaming unit 20 may include ahousing or cabinet 50 and one or more input/output devices, which mayinclude a coin slot or acceptor 52, a paper currency acceptor 54, aticket reader/printer 56, a lottery ticket dispenser 57, and a cardreader 58, which may be used to input value to the gaming unit 20. Inpractice, the ticket reader/printer 56 may be embodied in a ticketprinter and/or bill validator, which is used in a currently available EZPay casino system. A value input device may include any device that canaccept value from a customer. As used herein, the term “value” mayencompass gaming tokens, coins, paper currency, ticket vouchers, creditor debit cards, and any other object representative of value.

[0040] If provided, the ticket reader/printer 56 may be used as a billvalidator and/or may be used to read, print or otherwise encode lotterytickets that may be purchased by the user. For example, as describedbelow in detail, upon winning a jackpot or a hand of cards, the gamingunit 20, via the display unit 70, may ask the user if he or she desiresto purchase lottery tickets. Upon a user indication that he or shedesires to purchase lottery tickets, the ticket reader/printer 56 mayprint a lottery ticket having random or user-specified lottery numbersthereon. The fee associated with the purchased lottery tickets may bededucted from credits that the user has within the gaming unit 20. Aswill be readily appreciated, the lottery tickets may be lottery ticketsfor state or multistate lotteries. Additionally, the lottery tickets maybe for intracasino or intercasino lotteries, wherein a casino holds alottery drawing on a regular basis (e.g., daily or hourly). The ticketand printer functionality may be combined into a single ticketreader/printer 56 or, alternatively, may be embodied in a separatephysical device, one of which performs ticket reading and one of whichperforms ticket printing.

[0041] In another example, the gaming unit 20 and/or the ticketreader/printer 56 may be adapted to redeem and/or validate lotterytickets. The player, having already obtained a lottery ticket, may beable to check whether the lottery ticket is a winner and/or how muchvalue the lottery ticket has won. Similarly, the player may redeem thevalue of the ticket at the gaming unit 20. The player, for example, mayinsert the lottery ticket into the ticket reader/printer 56 to determinewhether the ticket is a winner. If the lottery ticket is a winner, theplayer may be given a choice of redeeming the value of the lotteryticket. If the player chooses not to redeem the value of the lotteryticket, the ticket reader/printer 56 may return the lottery ticket tothe player. If, however, the player chooses to redeem the value of thelottery ticket, the player may be prompted, by the gaming unit 20, viathe display 70 or otherwise, to press a button such as the “cash out”button. Upon pressing the button, the value of the lottery ticket may beadded to the player's credit, or value, in the gaming unit 20, or theplayer may choose not to play the gaming unit 20 and, rather redeem thecredits for another value such as cash or voucher. In yet anotherexample, the gaming unit 20 may include a separate lottery ticketdispenser 57 for dispensing lottery tickets. The lottery ticketdispenser 57, may be able to perform all the functions the ticketreader/printer 56 is able to perform.

[0042] Alternatively or additionally, the ticket reader/printer 56 maybe used to read and/or print or otherwise encode ticket vouchers 60. Theticket vouchers 60 may be composed of paper or another printable orencodable material and may have one or more of the followinginformational items printed or encoded thereon: the casino name, thetype of ticket voucher, a validation number, a bar code with controland/or security data, the date and time of issuance of the ticketvoucher, redemption instructions and restrictions, a description of anaward, and any other information that may be necessary or desirable.Different types of ticket vouchers 60 could be used, such as bonusticket vouchers, cash-redemption ticket vouchers, casino chip ticketvouchers, extra game play ticket vouchers, merchandise ticket vouchers,restaurant ticket vouchers, show ticket vouchers, etc. The ticketvouchers 60 could be printed with an optically readable material such asink, or data on the ticket vouchers 60 could be magnetically encoded.The ticket reader/printer 56 may be provided with the ability to bothread and print ticket vouchers 60, or it may be provided with theability to only read or only print or encode ticket vouchers 60. In thelatter case, for example, some of the gaming units 20 may have ticketreader/printer 56 that may be used to print ticket vouchers 60, whichcould then be used by a player in other gaming units 20 that have ticketreader/printer 56.

[0043] If provided, the card reader 58 may include any type of cardreading device, such as a magnetic card reader or an optical cardreader, and may be used to read data from a card offered by a player,such as a credit card or a player tracking card. If provided for playertracking purposes, the card reader 58 may be used to read data from,and/or write data to, player tracking cards that are capable of storingdata representing the identity of a player, the identity of a casino,the player's gaming habits, etc. Like the card reader 58, other gamingdevices associated with the gaming unit 20, including, but not limitedto, the ticket reader/printer 56 and the display unit 70, may beutilized for multiple purposes. The display unit 70, for example, may beof the Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) or a Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) type,wherein the display unit 70 may have touch screen capabilities allowingfor the display unit to be used in multiple ways. More specifically, thetouch screen capabilities of the display unit 70, may be utilized tochoose the type of game to be played on the gaming unit 20, it may beused do choose a set of lottery numbers when appropriate, or the gamingunit 20 may be adapted to function as an Automatic Teller MachineService (ATM), wherein the touch screen display unit 70 may function asa keypad for the ATM. To allow such a flexibility in the utilization ofthe different devices, the gaming unit 20 may include a peripheralmanager.

[0044] The gaming unit 20 may include one or more audio speakers 62, acoin payout tray 64, an input control panel 66, and a color videodisplay unit 70 for displaying images relating to the game or gamesprovided by the gaming unit 20. The audio speakers 62 may generate audiorepresenting sounds such as the noise of spinning slot machine reels, adealer's voice, music, announcements or any other audio related to acasino game. The input control panel 66 may be provided with a pluralityof pushbuttons or touch-sensitive areas that may be pressed by a playerto select games, make wagers, select lottery numbers or information,make gaming decisions, etc.

[0045]FIG. 2A illustrates one possible embodiment of the control panel66, which may be used where the gaming unit 20 is a slot machine havinga plurality of mechanical or “virtual” reels. Referring to FIG. 2A, thecontrol panel 66 may include a “See Pays” button 72 that, whenactivated, causes the display unit 70 to generate one or more displayscreens showing the odds or payout information for the game or gamesprovided by the gaming unit 20. As used herein, the term “button” isintended to encompass any device that allows a player to make an input,such as an input device that must be activated to make an inputselection or a display area that a player may simply touch, such as aswitch, touchscreen etc. The control panel 66 may include a “Cash Out”button 74 that may be activated when a player decides to terminate playon the gaming unit 20, in which case the gaming unit 20 may return valueto the player, such as by returning a number of coins to the player viathe payout tray 64.

[0046] The control panel 66 may also include a “Lottery Purchase” button73, that may be activated when a player decides to terminate play on thegaming unit 20, in which case the gaming unit 20 may dispense thedesired amount of lottery tickets as requested by the user.Alternatively, when the player decides to terminate play on the gamingunit 20, the player may depress the “Cash Out” button 74, at which timethe player may be given several options, including whether to redeem allor part of the redeemable value in lottery tickets. The player may thendepress the “Lottery Purchase” button 73 to redeem all or part of theredeemable value in lottery tickets.

[0047] If the gaming unit 20 provides a slots game having a plurality ofreels and a plurality of paylines that define winning combinations ofreel symbols, the control panel 66 may be provided with a plurality ofselection buttons 76, each of which allows the player to select adifferent number of paylines prior to spinning the reels. For example,five buttons 76 may be provided, each of which may allow a player toselect one, three, five, seven or nine paylines. Additionally, thecontrol panel 66 may be provided with a plurality of selection buttons78 each of which allows a player to specify a wager amount for eachpayline selected. For example, if the smallest wager accepted by thegaming unit 20 is a quarter ($0.25), the gaming unit 20 may be providedwith five selection buttons 78, each of which may allow a player toselect one, two, three, four or five quarters to wager for each paylineselected. In that case, if a player were to activate the “5” button 76(meaning that five paylines were to be played on the next spin of thereels) and then activate the “3” button 78 (meaning that three coins perpayline were to be wagered), the total wager would be $3.75 (assumingthe minimum bet was $0.25).

[0048] The control panel 66 may include a “Max Bet” button 80 to allow aplayer to make the maximum wager allowable for a game. In the aboveexample, where up to nine paylines were provided and up to five quarterscould be wagered for each payline selected, the maximum wager would be45 quarters, or $11.25. The control panel 66 may include a spin button82 to allow the player to initiate spinning of the reels of a slots gameafter a wager has been made.

[0049] In FIG. 2A, a rectangle is shown around the buttons 72, 74, 76,78, 80, 82. It should be understood that the rectangle simplydesignates, for ease of reference, an area in which the buttons 72, 74,76, 78, 80, 82 may be located. Consequently, the term “control panel”should not be construed to imply that a panel or plate separate from thehousing 50 of the gaming unit 20 is required, and the term “controlpanel” may encompass a plurality or grouping of player activatablebuttons.

[0050] Although one possible control panel 66 is described above, itshould be understood that different buttons could be utilized in thecontrol panel 66, and that the particular buttons used may depend on thegame or games that could be played on the gaming unit 20. Although thecontrol panel 66 is shown to be separate from the display unit 70, itshould be understood that the control panel 66 could be generated by thedisplay unit 70. In that case, each of the buttons of the control panel66 could be a colored area generated by the display unit 70, and sometype of mechanism may be associated with the display unit 70 to detectwhen each of the buttons was touched, such as a touch-sensitive screen.

Gaming Unit Electronics

[0051]FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a number of components that may beincorporated in the gaming unit 20. Referring to FIG. 3, the gaming unit20 may include a controller 100 that may comprise a program memory 102,a microcontroller or microprocessor (MP) 104, a random-access memory(RAM) 106 and an input/output (I/O) circuit 108, all of which may beinterconnected via an address/data bus 110. It should be appreciatedthat although only one microprocessor 104 is shown, the controller 100may include additional microprocessors. Similarly, the memory of thecontroller 100 may include multiple RAMs 106 and multiple programmemories 102. Although the I/O circuit 108 is shown as a single block,it should be appreciated that the I/O circuit 108 may include a numberof different types of I/O circuits. The RAM(s) 104 and program memories102 may be implemented as semiconductor memories, magnetically readablememories, and/or optically readable memories, for example.

[0052]FIG. 3 illustrates that the player tracking unit 45, the controlpanel 66, the display 70, the coin acceptor 52, the bill acceptor 54,the card reader 58 and the ticket reader/printer 56 may be operativelycoupled to the I/O circuit 108, each of those components being socoupled by either a unidirectional or bidirectional, single-line ormultiple-line data link, which may depend on the design of the componentthat is used. The speaker(s) 62 may be operatively coupled to a soundcircuit 112, that may comprise a voice- and sound-synthesis circuit orthat may comprise a driver circuit. The sound-generating circuit 112 maybe coupled to the I/O circuit 108.

[0053] As shown in FIG. 3, the components 45, 52, 54, 56, 58, 66, 70,112 may be connected to the I/O circuit 108 via a respective direct lineor conductor. Different connection schemes could be used. For example,one or more of the components shown in FIG. 3 may be connected to theI/O circuit 108 via a common bus or other data link that is shared by anumber of components. Furthermore, some of the components may bedirectly connected to the microprocessor 104 without passing through theI/O circuit 108.

Overall Operation of Gaming Unit

[0054] One manner in which one or more of the gaming units 20 (and oneor more of the gaming units 30) may operate is described below inconnection with a number of flowcharts that represent a number ofportions or routines of one or more computer programs, which may bestored in one or more of the memories of the controller 100. Thecomputer program(s) or portions thereof may be stored remotely, outsideof the gaming unit 20, and may control the operation of the gaming unit20 from a remote location. Such remote control may be facilitated withthe use of a wireless connection, or by an Internet interface thatconnects the gaming unit 20 with a remote computer (such as one of thenetwork computers 22, 32 as shown in FIG. 1) having a memory in whichthe computer program portions are stored. The computer program portionsmay be written in any high level language such as C, C#, C+, C++or thelike or any low-level, assembly or machine language. By storing thecomputer program portions therein, various portions of the memories 102,106 are physically and/or structurally configured in accordance withcomputer program instructions.

[0055]FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a main operating routine 200 that may bestored in the memory of the controller 100. Referring to FIG. 4, themain routine 200 may begin operation at block 202 during which anattraction sequence may be performed in an attempt to induce a potentialplayer in a casino to play the gaming unit 20. The attraction sequencemay be performed by displaying one or more video images on the displayunit 70 and/or causing one or more sound segments, such as voice ormusic, to be generated via the speakers 62. The attraction sequence mayinclude a scrolling list of games that may be played on the gaming unit20 and/or video images of various games being played, such as videopoker, video blackjack, video slots, video keno, video bingo, etc. Theattraction sequence may also include promotions or advertisement topromote the casino property and/or sequences to entice the player toplay or purchase one or more lottery games.

[0056] During performance of the attraction sequence, if a potentialplayer makes any input to the gaming unit 20 as determined at block 204,the attraction sequence may be terminated and a game-selection displaymay be generated on the display unit 70 at block 206 to allow the playerto select a game available on the gaming unit 20. The gaming unit 20 maydetect an input at block 204 in various ways. For example, the gamingunit 20 could detect if the player presses any button on the gaming unit20; the gaming unit 20 could determine if the player deposited one ormore coins into the gaming unit 20; the gaming unit 20 could determineif player deposited paper currency into the gaming unit; etc.

[0057] The game-selection display generated at block 206 may include,for example, a list of video games that may be played on the gaming unit20 and/or a visual message to prompt the player to deposit value intothe gaming unit 20. While the game-selection display is generated, thegaming unit 20 may wait for the player to make a game selection. Uponselection of one of the games by the player as determined at block 208,the controller 100 may cause one of a number of game routines to beperformed to allow the selected game to be played. For example, the gameroutines could include a video poker routine 210, a video blackjackroutine 220, a slots routine 230, a video keno routine 240, and a videobingo routine 250. At block 208, if no game selection is made within agiven period of time, the operation may branch back to block 202.

[0058] After one of the routines 210, 220, 230, 240, 250 has beenperformed to allow the player to play one of the games, block 260 may beutilized to determine whether the player wishes to terminate play on thegaming unit 20 or to select another game. If the player wishes to stopplaying the gaming unit 20, which may be expressed, for example, byselecting a “Cash Out” button or by selecting the “Lottery Purchase”button, control may pass to a lottery tickets routine block 261A or261B. The lottery tickets routine block 261A and 261B, as described indetail in conjunction with FIG. 16 and FIG. 17, respectively, may prompta user to purchase and dispense lottery tickets. As will be readilyappreciated by those having ordinary skill in the art, the lotteryticket routine 261A or 261B need not be located as shown in FIG. 4, butmay be located between the routines 210-250 and the block 260. Locatingthe lottery tickets routine 261A or 261B before the block 260 wouldresult in the user having the option to purchase lottery tickets withoutthe user opting to quit at the block 260.

[0059] Alternatively or additionally, the lottery tickets routine 261Aor 261B could be used in one or more of the routine 210-250. Forexample, the lottery ticket routine 261A or 261B, when located in thepoker routine 210 (FIG. 8), may be located anywhere between block 394and 400. More specifically, the lottery ticket routine 261A or 261B, maybe located between block 396 and block 398, such that the gaming unit 20may prompt the player if he would like to purchase lottery ticketsshortly after the player has won a jackpot or hand of cards. Therefore,the player may have one or more opportunities to purchase or redeemlottery tickets within the routine 200 and 210. The lottery ticketroutine 261A or 261B may also be located in the blackjack routine 220(FIG. 9), anywhere between block 438 and 444. More specifically, thelottery ticket routine 261, may be located between block 440 and block442, such that the player is prompted to purchase lottery ticketsshortly after the player has won a hand. Therefore, the player may, onceagain, have one or more opportunities to purchase or redeem lotterytickets within the routine 200 and 220. Similarly, the lottery routine261A or 261B may be located between blocks 494 and 504, between blocks578 and 584, and between blocks 640 and 646 in the slots routine 230(FIG. 12), the keno routine 240 (FIG. 13), and the bingo routine 220(FIG. 15), respectively. As a further alternative, the lottery ticketroutine 261A or 261B could be available on an interrupt basis promptedby the depression of the Lottery Purchase button 73.

[0060] After the operation returns to the main routine 200 from thelottery tickets routine 261A or 261B, the controller 100 may dispensevalue to the player at block 262 based on the outcome of the game(s)played by the player. The operation may then return to block 202. If theplayer did not wish to quit as determined at block 260, the routine mayreturn to block 208 where the game-selection display may again begenerated to allow the player to select another game.

[0061] It should be noted that although five gaming routines are shownin FIG. 4, a different number of routines could be included to allowplay of a different number of games. The gaming unit 20 may also beprogrammed to allow play of different games.

[0062]FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an alternative main operating routine 300that may be stored in the memory of the controller 100. The main routine300 may be utilized for gaming units 20 that are designed to allow playof only a single game or single type of game. Referring to FIG. 5, themain routine 300 may begin operation at block 302 during which anattraction sequence may be performed in an attempt to induce a potentialplayer in a casino to play the gaming unit 20. The attraction sequencemay be performed by displaying one or more video images on the displayunit 70 and/or causing one or more sound segments, such as voice ormusic, to be generated via the speakers 62.

[0063] During performance of the attraction sequence, if a potentialplayer makes any input to the gaming unit 20 as determined at block 304,the attraction sequence may be terminated and a game display may begenerated on the display unit 70 at block 306. The game displaygenerated at block 306 may include, for example, an image of the casinogame that may be played on the gaming unit 20 and/or a visual message toprompt the player to deposit value into the gaming unit 20. At block308, the gaming unit 20 may determine if the player requestedinformation concerning the game, in which case the requested informationmay be displayed at block 310. Block 312 may be used to determine if theplayer requested initiation of a game, in which case a game routine 320may be performed. The game routine 320 could be any one of the gameroutines disclosed herein, such as one of the five game routines 210,220, 230, 240, 250, or another game routine.

[0064] After the routine 320 has been performed to allow the player toplay the game, block 322 may be utilized to determine whether the playerwishes to terminate play on the gaming unit 20. If the player wishes tostop playing the gaming unit 20, which wish may be expressed, forexample, by selecting a “Cash Out” button, control may pass to a lotterytickets routine 261A or 261B, which provides the user the option ofpurchasing lottery tickets, before the controller 100 dispenses value tothe player at block 324 based on the outcome of the game(s) played bythe player. Alternatively, as described above, lottery tickets could bedispersed at any time when the Lottery Purchase button 73 is depressed.Further detail regarding the lottery tickets routines 261A and 261B isprovided in connection with FIG. 16 and FIG. 17, respectively.Additionally or alternatively, the lottery ticket routine 261A or 261Bmay be located between blocks 312 and 322, such that the player maypurchase or redeem lottery tickets in routine 300 before deciding toquit the game at block 322. After the completion of the block 324,operation may then return to block 302. If, however, the player did notwish to quit as determined at block 322, the operation may return toblock 308.

Video Poker

[0065]FIG. 6 is an exemplary display 350 that may be shown on thedisplay unit 70 during performance of the video poker routine 210 shownschematically in FIG. 4. Referring to FIG. 6, the display 350 mayinclude video images 352 of a plurality of playing cards representingthe player's hand, such as five cards. To allow the player to controlthe play of the video poker game, a plurality of player-selectablebuttons may be displayed. The buttons may include a “Hold” button 354disposed directly below each of the playing card images 352, a “CashOut” button 356, a “See Pays” button 358, a “Bet One Credit” button 360,a “Bet Max Credits” button 362, and a “Deal/Draw” button 364. Thedisplay 350 may also include an area 366 in which the number ofremaining credits or value is displayed. If the display unit 70 isprovided with a touch-sensitive screen, the buttons 354, 356, 358, 360,362, 364 may form part of the video display 350. Alternatively, one ormore of those buttons may be provided as part of a control panel that isprovided separately from the display unit 70.

[0066]FIG. 8 is a flowchart of the video poker routine 210 shownschematically in FIG. 4. Referring to FIG. 8, at block 370, the routinemay determine whether the player has requested payout information, suchas by activating the “See Pays” button 358, in which case at block 372the routine may cause one or more pay tables to be displayed on thedisplay unit 70. At block 374, the routine may determine whether theplayer has made a bet, such as by pressing the “Bet One Credit” button360, in which case at block 376 bet data corresponding to the bet madeby the player may be stored in the memory of the controller 100. Atblock 378, the routine may determine whether the player has pressed the“Bet Max Credits” button 362, in which case at block 380 bet datacorresponding to the maximum allowable bet may be stored in the memoryof the controller 100.

[0067] At block 382, the routine may determine if the player desires anew hand to be dealt, which may be determined by detecting if the“Deal/Draw” button 364 was activated after a wager was made. In thatcase, at block 384 a video poker hand may be “dealt” by causing thedisplay unit 70 to generate the playing card images 352. After the handis dealt, at block 386 the routine may determine if any of the “Hold”buttons 354 have been activated by the player, in which case dataregarding which of the playing card images 352 are to be “held” may bestored in the controller 100 at block 388. If the “Deal/Draw” button 364is activated again as determined at block 390, each of the playing cardimages 352 that was not “held” may be caused to disappear from the videodisplay 350 and to be replaced by a new, randomly selected, playing cardimage 352 at block 392.

[0068] At block 394, the routine may determine whether the poker handrepresented by the playing card images 352 currently displayed is awinner. That determination may be made by comparing data representingthe currently displayed poker hand with data representing all possiblewinning hands, which may be stored in the memory of the controller 100.If there is a winning hand, a payout value corresponding to the winninghand may be determined at block 396. After the block 396 completesexecution or if the block 394 determines that the user does not have awinning hand, control passes to a block 398. In an alternate example,before block 398 receives control, control may be passed to the lotteryticket routine 261A or 261B. At the lottery ticket routine 261A or 261Bthe player may be prompted and given the choice to purchase or redeemlottery tickets as shown in FIG. 16 and FIG. 17, respectively. After theroutine 261A or 261B is completed the control passes to block 398. Atthe block 398 the player's cumulative value or number of credits may beupdated by subtracting the bet made by the player and adding, if thehand was a winner, the payout value determined at block 396. Thecumulative value or number of credits may also be displayed in thedisplay area 366 (FIG. 6).

[0069] After the execution of the block 398, control passes to a block400, which determines if the user desires to quit playing the pokergame. If the user desires to quit, execution of the routine 210 ends andcontrol returns to the routine that called the routine 210 (e.g., theroutine 200 of FIG. 4). Alternatively, if the user desires to continueplaying the poker game, control passes from the block 400 back to theblock 370.

[0070] Although the video poker routine 210 is described above inconnection with a single poker hand of five cards, the routine 210 maybe modified to allow other versions of poker to be played. For example,seven card poker may be played, or stud poker may be played.Alternatively, multiple poker hands may be simultaneously played. Inthat case, the game may begin by dealing a single poker hand, and theplayer may be allowed to hold certain cards. After deciding which cardsto hold, the held cards may be duplicated in a plurality of differentpoker hands, with the remaining cards for each of those poker handsbeing randomly determined.

Video Blackjack

[0071]FIG. 7 is an exemplary display 400 that may be shown on thedisplay unit 70 during performance of the video blackjack routine 220shown schematically in FIG. 4. Referring to FIG. 7, the display 400 mayinclude video images 402 of a pair of playing cards representing adealer's hand, with one of the cards shown face up and the other cardbeing shown face down, and video images 404 of a pair of playing cardsrepresenting a player's hand, with both the cards shown face up. The“dealer” may be the gaming unit 20.

[0072] To allow the player to control the play of the video blackjackgame, a plurality of player-selectable buttons may be displayed. Thebuttons may include a “Cash Out” button 406, a “See Pays” button 408, a“Stay” button 410, a “Hit” button 412, a “Bet One Credit” button 414,and a “Bet Max Credits” button 416. The display 400 may also include anarea 418 in which the number of remaining credits or value is displayed.If the display unit 70 is provided with a touch-sensitive screen, thebuttons 406, 408, 410, 412, 414, 416 may form part of the video display400. Alternatively, one or more of those buttons may be provided as partof a control panel that is provided separately from the display unit 70.

[0073]FIG. 9 is a flowchart of the video blackjack routine 220 shownschematically in FIG. 4. Referring to FIG. 9, the video blackjackroutine 220 may begin at block 420 where it may determine whether a bethas been made by the player. That may be determined, for example, bydetecting the activation of either the “Bet One Credit” button 414 orthe “Bet Max Credits” button 416. At block 422, bet data correspondingto the bet made at block 420 may be stored in the memory of thecontroller 100. At block 424, a dealer's hand and a player's hand may be“dealt” by making the playing card images 402, 404 appear on the displayunit 70.

[0074] At block 426, the player may be allowed to be “hit,” in whichcase at block 428 another card will be dealt to the player's hand bymaking another playing card image 404 appear in the display 400. If theplayer is hit, block 430 may determine if the player has “bust,” orexceeded 21. If the player has not bust, blocks 426 and 428 may beperformed again to allow the player to be hit again.

[0075] If the player decides not to hit, at block 432 the routine maydetermine whether the dealer should be hit. Whether the dealer hits maybe determined in accordance with predetermined rules, such as the dealeralways hit if the dealer's hand totals 15 or less. If the dealer hits,at block 434 the dealer's hand may be dealt another card by makinganother playing card image 402 appear in the display 400. At block 436the routine may determine whether the dealer has bust. If the dealer hasnot bust, blocks 432, 434 may be performed again to allow the dealer tobe hit again.

[0076] If the dealer does not hit, at block 436 the outcome of theblackjack game and a corresponding payout may be determined based on,for example, whether the player or the dealer has the higher hand thatdoes not exceed 21. If the player has a winning hand, a payout valuecorresponding to the winning hand may be determined at block 440. Afterthe payout value is determined at the block 440, control passes to theroutine 220 or if the block 438 determines that the player is not awinner, a block 442 updates the player's cumulative value or number ofcredits by subtracting the bet made by the player and adding, if theplayer won, the payout value determined at block 440. The cumulativevalue or number of credits may also be displayed in the display area 418(FIG. 7). In one example, before block 442 receives control, control maybe passed to the lottery ticket routine 261A or 261B. At the lotteryticket routine 261A or 261B the player may be prompted and given thechoice to purchase or redeem lottery tickets as shown in FIG. 16 andFIG. 17, respectively. After the routine 261A or 261B is completed thecontrol passes to block 442.

[0077] After the execution of the block 442, control passes to a block444, which determines if the user would like to quit playing theblackjack game. If the user desires to quit, control passes back to theroutine (e.g., the routine 200 of FIG. 4) that called the routine 220.Alternatively, if the block 444 determines that the user does not desireto quit the blackjack game, control passes from the block 444 back tothe block 420, which restarts the game.

Slots

[0078]FIG. 10 is an exemplary display 450 that may be shown on thedisplay unit 70 during performance of the slots routine 230 shownschematically in FIG. 4. Referring to FIG. 10, the display 450 mayinclude video images 452 of a plurality of slot machine reels, each ofthe reels having a plurality of reel symbols 454 associated therewith.Although the display 450 shows five reel images 452, each of which mayhave three reel symbols 454 that are visible at a time, other reelconfigurations could be utilized.

[0079] To allow the player to control the play of the slots game, aplurality of player-selectable buttons may be displayed. The buttons mayinclude a “Cash Out” button 456, a “See Pays” button 458, a plurality ofpayline-selection buttons 460 each of which allows the player to selecta different number of paylines prior to “spinning” the reels, aplurality of bet-selection buttons 462 each of which allows a player tospecify a wager amount for each payline selected, a “Spin” button 464,and a “Max Bet” button 466 to allow a player to make the maximum wagerallowable.

[0080]FIG. 12 is a flowchart of the slots routine 230 shownschematically in FIG. 10. Referring to FIG. 12, at block 470, theroutine may determine whether the player has requested payoutinformation, such as by activating the “See Pays” button 458, in whichcase at block 472 the routine may cause one or more pay tables to bedisplayed on the display unit 70. At block 474, the routine maydetermine whether the player has pressed one of the payline-selectionbuttons 460, in which case at block 476 data corresponding to the numberof paylines selected by the player may be stored in the memory of thecontroller 100. At block 478, the routine may determine whether theplayer has pressed one of the bet-selection buttons 462, in which caseat block 480 data corresponding to the amount bet per payline may bestored in the memory of the controller 100. At block 482, the routinemay determine whether the player has pressed the “Max Bet” button 466,in which case at block 484 bet data (which may include both payline dataand bet-per-payline data) corresponding to the maximum allowable bet maybe stored in the memory of the controller 100.

[0081] If the “Spin” button 464 has been activated by the player asdetermined at block 486, at block 488 the routine may cause the slotmachine reel images 452 to begin “spinning” so as to simulate theappearance of a plurality of spinning mechanical slot machine reels. Atblock 490, the routine may determine the positions at which the slotmachine reel images will stop, or the particular symbol images 454 thatwill be displayed when the reel images 452 stop spinning. At block 492,the routine may stop the reel images 452 from spinning by displayingstationary reel images 452 and images of three symbols 454 for eachstopped reel image 452. The virtual reels may be stopped from left toright, from the perspective of the player, or in any other manner orsequence.

[0082] The routine may provide for the possibility of a bonus game orround if certain conditions are met, such as the display in the stoppedreel images 452 of a particular symbol 454. If there is such a bonuscondition as determined at block 494, the routine may proceed to block496 where a bonus round may be played. The bonus round may be adifferent game than slots, and many other types of bonus games could beprovided. If the player wins the bonus round, or receives additionalcredits or points in the bonus round, a bonus value may be determined atblock 498. A payout value corresponding to outcome of the slots gameand/or the bonus round may be determined at block 500.

[0083] After the payout value is determined at the block 500, controlpasses to a block 502. In an alternate example, before block 502receives control, control may be passed to the lottery ticket routine261A or 261B. At the lottery ticket routine 261A or 261B the player maybe prompted and given the choice to purchase or redeem lottery ticketsas shown in FIG. 16 and FIG. 17, respectively. After the routine 261A or261B is completed the control passes to block 502. At block 502, theplayer's cumulative value or number of credits may be updated bysubtracting the bet made by the player and adding, if the slot gameand/or bonus round was a winner, the payout value determined at block500.

[0084] After the block 502 completes execution, control passes to ablock 504, which determines whether the user desires to quit playing theslots routine 230. If the user desires to quit the slots routine 230,control passes back to the main routine that called the slots routine.Alternatively, if the user does not desire to quit playing the slotsroutine 230, control passes from the block 504 back to the block 470.

[0085] Although the above routine has been described as a virtual slotmachine routine in which slot machine reels are represented as images onthe display unit 70, actual slot machine reels that are capable of beingspun may be utilized instead.

Video Keno

[0086]FIG. 11 is an exemplary display 520 that may be shown on thedisplay unit 70 during performance of the video keno routine 240 shownschematically in FIG. 4. Referring to FIG. 11, the display 520 mayinclude a video image 522 of a plurality of numbers that were selectedby the player prior to the start of a keno game and a video image 524 ofa plurality of numbers randomly selected during the keno game. Therandomly selected numbers may be displayed in a grid pattern.

[0087] To allow the player to control the play of the keno game, aplurality of player-selectable buttons may be displayed. The buttons mayinclude a “Cash Out” button 526, a “See Pays” button 528, a “Bet OneCredit” button 530, a “Bet Max Credits” button 532, a “Select Ticket”button 534, a “Select Number” button 536, and a “Play” button 538. Thedisplay 520 may also include an area 540 in which the number ofremaining credits or value is displayed. If the display unit 70 isprovided with a touch-sensitive screen, the buttons may form part of thevideo display 520. Alternatively, one or more of those buttons may beprovided as part of a control panel that is provided separately from thedisplay unit 70.

[0088]FIG. 13 is a flowchart of the video keno routine 240 shownschematically in FIG. 4. The keno routine 240 may be utilized inconnection with a single gaming unit 20 where a single player is playinga keno game, or the keno routine 240 may be utilized in connection withmultiple gaming units 20 where multiple players are playing a singlekeno game. In the latter case, one or more of the acts described belowmay be performed either by the controller 100 in each gaming unit or byone of the network computer 22, 32 to which multiple gaming units 20 areoperatively connected.

[0089] Referring to FIG. 13, at block 550, the routine may determinewhether the player has requested payout information, such as byactivating the “See Pays” button 528, in which case at block 552 theroutine may cause one or more pay tables to be displayed on the displayunit 70. At block 554, the routine may determine whether the player hasmade a bet, such as by having pressed the “Bet One Credit” button 530 orthe “Bet Max Credits” button 532, in which case at block 556 bet datacorresponding to the bet made by the player may be stored in the memoryof the controller 100. After the player has made a wager, at block 558the player may select a keno ticket, and at block 560 the ticket may bedisplayed on the display 520. At block 562, the player may select one ormore game numbers, which may be within a range set by the casino. Afterbeing selected, the player's game numbers may be stored in the memory ofthe controller 100 at block 564 and may be included in the image 522 onthe display 520 at block 566. After a certain amount of time, the kenogame may be closed to additional players (where a number of players areplaying a single keno game using multiple gambling units 20).

[0090] If play of the keno game is to begin as determined at block 568,at block 570 a game number within a range set by the casino may berandomly selected either by the controller 100 or a central computeroperatively connected to the controller, such as one of the networkcomputers 22, 32. At block 572, the randomly selected game number may bedisplayed on the display unit 70 and the display units 70 of othergaming units 20 (if any) which are involved in the same keno game. Atblock 574, the controller 100 (or the central computer noted above) mayincrement a count which keeps track of how many game numbers have beenselected at block 570.

[0091] At block 576, the controller 100 (or one of the network computers22, 32) may determine whether a maximum number of game numbers withinthe range have been randomly selected. If not, another game number maybe randomly selected at block 570. If the maximum number of game numbershas been selected, at block 578 the controller 100 (or a centralcomputer) may determine whether there are a sufficient number of matchesbetween the game numbers selected by the player and the game numbersselected at block 570 to cause the player to win. The number of matchesmay depend on how many numbers the player selected and the particularkeno rules being used.

[0092] If there are a sufficient number of matches, a payout may bedetermined at block 580 to compensate the player for winning the game.The payout may depend on the number of matches between the game numbersselected by the player and the game numbers randomly selected at block570.

[0093] After the block 580 determines the payout value, control passesto a change value block 582. In an alternate example, before block 582receives control, control may be passed to the lottery ticket routine261A or 261B. At the lottery ticket routine 261A or 261B the player maybe prompted and given the choice to purchase or redeem lottery ticketsas shown in FIG. 16 and FIG. 17, respectively. After the routine 261A or261B is completed the control passes to block 582. At block 582, theplayer's cumulative value or number of credits may be updated bysubtracting the bet made by the player and adding, if the keno game waswon, the payout value determined at block 580. The cumulative value ornumber of credits may also be displayed in the display area 540 (FIG.11).

[0094] After the block 582 completes execution, control passes to ablock 584, which determines if the user desires to quit play of the kenoroutine 240. If the user desires to quit play of the keno routine 240,control returns to the main routine that called the keno routine 240.Alternatively, if the user desires to continue playing keno, controlpasses from the block 584 to the block 550

Video Bingo

[0095]FIG. 14 is an exemplary display 600 that may be shown on thedisplay unit 70 during performance of the video bingo routine 250 shownschematically in FIG. 4. Referring to FIG. 14, the display 600 mayinclude one or more video images 602 of a bingo card and images of thebingo numbers selected during the game. The bingo card images 602 mayhave a grid pattern.

[0096] To allow the player to control the play of the bingo game, aplurality of player-selectable buttons may be displayed. The buttons mayinclude a “Cash Out” button 604, a “See Pays” button 606, a “Bet OneCredit” button 608, a “Bet Max Credits” button 610, a “Select Card”button 612, and a “Play” button 614. The display 600 may also include anarea 616 in which the number of remaining credits or value is displayed.If the display unit 70 is provided with a touch-sensitive screen, thebuttons may form part of the video display 600. Alternatively, one ormore of those buttons may be provided as part of a control panel that isprovided separately from the display unit 70.

[0097]FIG. 15 is a flowchart of the video bingo routine 250 shownschematically in FIG. 4. The bingo routine 250 may be utilized inconnection with a single gaming unit 20 where a single player is playinga bingo game, or the bingo routine 250 may be utilized in connectionwith multiple gaming units 20 where multiple players are playing asingle bingo game. In the latter case, one or more of the acts describedbelow may be performed either by the controller 100 in each gaming unit20 or by one of the network computers 22, 32 to which multiple gamingunits 20 are operatively connected.

[0098] Referring to FIG. 15, at block 620, the routine may determinewhether the player has requested payout information, such as byactivating the “See Pays” button 606, in which case at block 622 theroutine may cause one or more pay tables to be displayed on the displayunit 70. At block 624, the routine may determine whether the player hasmade a bet, such as by having pressed the “Bet One Credit” button 608 orthe “Bet Max Credits” button 610, in which case at block 626 bet datacorresponding to the bet made by the player may be stored in the memoryof the controller 100.

[0099] After the player has made a wager, at block 628 the player mayselect a bingo card, which may be generated randomly. The player mayselect more than one bingo card, and there may be a maximum number ofbingo cards that a player may select. After play is to commence asdetermined at block 632, at block 634 a bingo number may be randomlygenerated by the controller 100 or a central computer such as one of thenetwork computers 22, 32. At block 636, the bingo number may bedisplayed on the display unit 70 and the display units 70 of any othergaming units 20 involved in the bingo game.

[0100] At block 638, the controller 100 (or a central computer) maydetermine whether any player has won the bingo game. If no player haswon, another bingo number may be randomly selected at block 634. If anyplayer has bingo as determined at block 638, the routine may determineat block 640 whether the player playing that gaming unit 20 was thewinner. If so, at block 642 a payout for the player may be determined.The payout may depend on the number of random numbers that were drawnbefore there was a winner, the total number of winners (if there wasmore than one player), and the amount of money that was wagered on thegame. After the block 642 completes execution or if the block 640determines that the user has not won, a block 644 updates the player'scumulative value or number of credits by subtracting the bet made by theplayer and adding, if the bingo game was won, the payout valuedetermined at block 642. The cumulative value or number of credits mayalso be displayed in the display area 616 (FIG. 14). In an alternateexample, before block 644 receives control, control may be passed to thelottery ticket routine 261A or 261B. At the lottery ticket routine 261Aor 261B the player may be prompted and given the choice to purchase orredeem lottery tickets as shown in FIG. 16 and FIG. 17, respectively.After the routine 261A or 261B is completed the control passes to block644.

Lottery Tickets

[0101] Exemplary flow diagrams for the lottery ticket routines mentionedin conjunction with FIGS. 4 and 5 are shown in FIG. 16 and FIG. 17, atreference numeral 261A and 261B, respectively. The routine 261A beginsoperation at block 682, which prompts a user to purchase a lotteryticket. Such a prompt may be an on-screen display having text asking theuser whether the user desires to purchase a lottery ticket or the promptmay be a blinking button, thereby giving the user a choice to obtainlottery tickets. In response to the prompt, the user may indicatewhether he or she desires to purchase lottery tickets.

[0102] After block 682 asks if the user desires to purchase lotterytickets, control passes to block 684, which reads the indicationprovided by the user in response to the prompt. If lottery tickets aredesired, control passes from block 684 to block 686. Block 686 promptsthe user to enter the number of lottery tickets desired. After the userhas entered the number of lottery tickets, control passes to block 688.

[0103] At the block 688, the gaming machine 20 deducts the value of thetickets from the users accumulated value. Essentially, block 688 chargesthe user for the tickets that the user purchased by deducting the costof the tickets from the user's winnings. For example, if the user has$100 of accumulated value within the gaming machine and the userpurchases ten lottery tickets at a cost of one dollar each, $10 would bededucted from the $100 accumulated value, thereby leaving the user with$90 of accumulated value.

[0104] After block 688 has completed execution and the value of thelottery tickets has been deducted form the player's accumulated value,control passes to block 690. At block 690 the gaming machine 20dispenses the number of tickets selected by the user at the block 686.The lottery tickets may be printed using the ticket reader/printer 56 orthe tickets may be preprinted and dispensed by the lottery ticketdispenser 57 of FIG. 2.

[0105] After block 690 has completed execution or the block 684determines that the user does not desire to purchase any lotterytickets, control returns to the block following the block that calledthe routine 261A. For example, with respect to FIGS. 4 and 5, controlwould return to block 262 and 324, respectively.

[0106] Another exemplary flow diagram for the lottery tickets routinementioned in conjunction with FIGS. 4 and 5 is shown in FIG. 17 atreference numeral 261B. The routine 261B begins operation at block 782,which prompts a user to purchase a lottery ticket. Such a prompt may bean on-screen display having text asking the user whether the userdesires to purchase a lottery ticket or the prompt may be a blinkingbutton, thereby giving the user a choice to obtain lottery tickets. Inresponse to the prompt, the user may indicate whether he or she desiresto purchase lottery tickets.

[0107] After block 782 asks if the user desires to purchase lotterytickets, control passes to block 784, which reads the indicationprovided by the user in response to the prompt. If lottery tickets aredesired, control passes from block 784 to block 786. Block 786 promptsthe user to enter the number of lottery tickets desired. The number oflottery tickets the user may obtain may depend on the amount of valuethe user has accumulated on the gaming 20, but the user may also be ableto obtain additional lottery tickets by adding value to the gaming unit20, to cover the lottery tickets in excess of the value available on thegaming unit 20. For example, the user may desire to obtain $50.00 worthof lottery tickets, but only $40.00 of credit are available. The usermay then place an additional $10.00 worth of value into the gaming unit20 to obtain in combination with the $40.00 of credit, enough value toobtain the $50.00 worth of lottery tickets. Once the user has enteredthe number of lottery tickets desired at block 786, control passed toblock 788 and asks if the user would like to enter the lottery numbersfor the desired lottery tickets. If the user chooses to enter thelottery numbers, control will than pass to block 790. At block 790, theuser may enter the desired lottery numbers into the gaming unit 20 viamany different means, including but not limited to, a touchscreen pad, anumber pad, or the like. The user may, however already have preselectedlottery numbers stored on a card, such as a credit card or a playertracking card, which may be read by the card reader 58 of FIG. 2. Afterthe user has entered the number of lottery tickets and any preferredlottery numbers, control passes to block 792.

[0108] If the user chooses not enter the lottery numbers at block 788,control will then pass to block 794, where the controller 100 willeither be programmed to obtain the lottery numbers from the lotterysystem 46 or the controller will be programmed to self generate thelottery numbers. If the controller 100 is programmed to generate thelottery numbers control is passed to block 796. At block 796 thecontroller 100 may generate one or more sets of random or pseudorandomlottery numbers for each of the lottery tickets. If the controller 100is programmed to obtain the lottery numbers from the lottery system 46,control is passed to block 798. At block 798, the amounts and types ofdata communicated between the gaming unit 20 and the lottery system 46may vary greatly. The different states and casinos may have certaingaming regulations or systems in place, thereby dictating the amountsand types of data that may be communicated between a given gaming unit20 and the lottery system 46. For example, the lottery system 46 mayrandomly generate lottery numbers when prompted by the gaming unit 20.The gaming unit 20 may, however, store one or more sets of lotterynumbers as provided by the lottery system 46, and utilize those storednumbers as needed. Likewise, there may be one or more intermediatedevices or systems through which the lottery numbers may travel and/orbe stored. The lottery numbers, for example, may be communicated andstored on a network server or host system, such as the network computer22, where the lottery numbers may be stored until needed by the gamingunit 20.

[0109] At the block 792, the gaming unit 20 deducts the value of thetickets from the users accumulated value. Essentially, block 792 chargesthe user for the tickets that the user purchased by deducting the costof the tickets from the user's winnings. For example, if the user has$100 of accumulated value within the gaming machine and the userpurchases ten lottery tickets at a cost of one dollar each, $10 would bededucted from the $100 accumulated value, thereby leaving the user with$90 of accumulated value.

[0110] After block 792 has deducted the value of the tickets from theuser's accumulated value, control passes to block 800. At block 800, thegaming unit 20 dispenses the number of tickets selected by the user atblock 786. The dispensed tickets include lottery numbers that aregenerated by the user, the gaming unit 20 or the lottery system 46. Thelottery tickets may be printed using the ticker reader/printer 56 or thetickets may be preprinted and dispensed by the lottery ticket dispenser58 of FIG. 2.

[0111] After block 800, the gaming unit communicates with the lotterysystem 46 at block 802. Once the lottery numbers are generated, whetherby the user, the lottery system 46, or the gaming unit 20, the gamingunit 20 may send lottery information, such as the lottery numbersplayed, the amount of money wagered, ticket identification, and thelike, to the lottery system 46 to be recorded. The gaming unit 20 may,however, retain all the lottery information until a specified time, atwhich the gaming unit 20 may release all the information to the lotterysystem 46. Likewise, there may be one or more intermediate devices orsystems through which the lottery information may travel and/or bestored. The lottery information, for example, may be communicated afterand/or during every lottery transaction to a network server or hostsystem, such as the network computer 22, where the lottery informationmay be stored until a specified time, or from where the lotteryinformation may be communicated to the lottery system 46, or anotherintermediate device.

[0112] After block 802 has completed execution or the block 784determines that the user does not desire to purchase any lotterytickets, control returns to the block following the block that calledthe routine 261B. For example, with respect to FIGS. 4 and 5, controlwould return to block 262 and 324, respectively.

[0113] Additionally or alternatively to obtaining lottery tickets fromthe gaming unit 20 during and/or after game play, the player may redeemthe value of a winning lottery ticket through the gaming unit 20 before,during and/or after game play. The player, for example, may be inpossession of a lottery ticket prior to playing the gaming unit 20. Theplayer may or may not know whether the lottery ticket is a winner andmay, therefore, have a desire to determine the winning status of thelottery ticket. As shown in FIG. 18, routine 900 enables the player toredeem the value of a lottery ticket. In this example, block 902 mayprompt the player to insert the lottery ticket into the gaming unit 20.The prompt to the player may be a sign or screen indicating that thegaming unit 20 is able to redeem tickets, or the prompt may be any otheraudio and/or visual indication. The player, at block 904, may theninsert the lottery ticket into the gaming unit 20. More specifically,the player may insert the lottery ticket into a device capable ofreading the lottery ticket, such as the ticket reader/printer 56 or thelottery ticket dispenser 57.

[0114] At block 906 the gaming unit 20 may validate the ticket todetermine, among other information, that the ticket is a valid ticketand/or that the ticket has not already been redeemed. The ticket may bevalidated by reading ticket identifying information, such as a barcode,from the lottery ticket and rectifying that information with data fromthe lottery system 46. If the ticket does not pass validation, thegaming unit 20, at block 908, may then eject the lottery ticket from thegaming unit 20 and the routine may end. If, however the ticket validatesat block 906, the gaming unit 20 will determine at block 910 whether thelottery ticket is a winner. Alternatively, the gaming unit 20 mayvalidate the ticket after it has been determined whether the lotteryticket is a winner. If at diamond 912 the lottery ticket is not awinner, control may be given to block 914 where the user may be informedof the loosing status of the lottery ticket. The gaming unit 20 mayprompt the user with the loosing status via the display 70 or throughalternate means, such as speakers, a print out ticket, etc. Once theuser has been informed of the loosing status, control may be given toblock 908 to eject the lottery ticket from the gaming unit 20.

[0115] If at diamond 912 the lottery ticket is a winner, control may begiven to block 916 where the user may be informed of the winning statusof the lottery ticket. The information may include, but is not limitedto, how the lottery ticket is a winner and how much value is won. Thegaming unit 20 may prompt the user with the winning status via thedisplay 70 or through alternate means, such as speakers, a print outticket, etc. Once the user has been informed of the winning status,control may be pass to block 918 to give the user options on how toredeem the value of the lottery ticket. If at diamond 920 the userchooses to redeem the winnings in the form of credit in the gaming unit20, control may pass to block 922 to add the value of the lottery ticketwinnings to the credits of the gaming unit 20. Therefore, if the userwas already playing the gaming unit 20 prior to checking whether thelottery ticket is a winner, the value of the lottery ticket may be addedto the user's already established credit. If, however, the user was notplaying the gaming unit 20 prior to checking whether the lottery ticketis a winner, the value of the lottery ticket may be the players initialcredit in the gaming unit 20. Control may then pass to block 924 wherethe player may then proceed to play the gaming unit 20 as outlined inroutines 200 and 300 of FIGS. 4 and 5, respectively.

[0116] If at diamond 920 the user chooses to redeem the winnings in aform other than in credit for the gaming unit 20, control may pass toblock 926 to dispense the value of the lottery ticket to the user. Atblock 926 the user may redeem the value of the lottery ticket in manyforms, including, but not limited to, cash, vouchers, or credit, such asto a card or an account via an electronic fund transfer (EFT) or thelike.

What is claimed is:
 1. A gaming apparatus, comprising: a display unitthat is capable of generating video images; a value input device; acontroller operatively coupled to said display unit and said value inputdevice, said controller comprising a processor and a memory operativelycoupled to said processor, said controller being programmed to allow aperson to make a wager, said controller being programmed to cause avideo image representing a game to be generated on said display unit,said video image representing one of the following games: video poker,video blackjack, video slots, video keno or video bingo, said videoimage comprising an image of at least five playing cards if said gamecomprises video poker, said video image comprising an image of aplurality of simulated slot machine reels if said game comprises videoslots, said video image comprising an image of a plurality of playingcards if said game comprises video blackjack, said video imagecomprising an image of a plurality of keno numbers if said gamecomprises video keno, said video image comprising an image of a bingogrid if said game comprises video bingo, and said controller beingprogrammed to determine a value payout associated with an outcome ofsaid game; and a lottery ticket dispenser operatively linked to saidcontroller and adapted to dispense lottery tickets bearing lotteryindicia in response to a signal received from said controller.
 2. Agaming apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said controller isprogrammed to receive said lottery ticket indicia from one of a user anda lottery system.
 3. A gaming apparatus as defined in claim 1, whereinsaid controller is programmed to randomly select said lottery ticketindicia.
 4. A gaming apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein saidlottery tickets are printed by one of a lottery ticket dispenser and alottery ticket reader/printer.
 5. A gaming apparatus as defined in claim1, wherein said lottery ticket dispenser and said controller are adaptedto read and validate lottery tickets.
 6. A gaming system comprising aplurality of gaming apparatuses as defined in claim 1, said gamingapparatuses being interconnected to form a network of gamingapparatuses.
 7. A gaming system as defined in claim 6, wherein saidgaming apparatuses are interconnected via the Internet.
 8. A gamingapparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said controller iscommunicatively linked to a lottery system.
 9. A gaming apparatus asdefined in claim 1, wherein said controller is programmed to deduct froma user's winnings a cost associated with dispensed lottery tickets. 10.A gaming apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said controller isprogrammed to access a lottery system and report to the user priorwinning lottery indicia.
 11. A gaming apparatus as defined in claim 1,wherein said lottery ticket is associated with one of a casino-basedlottery, a state-based lottery, and a multistate lottery.
 12. A gamingapparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said controller is programmedto dispense scratch-off type lottery tickets.
 13. A gaming apparatus,comprising: a display unit that is capable of generating video images; avalue input device; a controller operatively coupled to said displayunit and said value input device, said controller comprising a processorand a memory operatively coupled to said processor, said controllerbeing programmed to allow a person to make a wager; said controllerbeing programmed to cause a video image to be generated on said displayunit, said video image representing a game, said controller beingprogrammed to determine, after said video image has been displayed, avalue payout associated with an outcome of said game represented by saidvideo image; and a lottery ticket dispenser being programmed to dispenselottery tickets bearing generated lottery indicia in response to asignal received from said controller.
 14. A gaming apparatus as definedin claim 13, wherein said controller is programmed to receive saidlottery ticket indicia from one of a user and a lottery system.
 15. Agaming apparatus as defined in claim 13, wherein said controller isprogrammed to randomly select said lottery ticket indicia.
 16. A gamingapparatus as defined in claim 13, wherein said lottery tickets areprinted by one of a lottery ticket dispenser and a lottery ticketreader/printer.
 17. A gaming system comprising a plurality of gamingapparatuses as defined in claim 13, said gaming apparatuses beinginterconnected to form a network of gaming apparatuses.
 18. A gamingsystem as defined in claim 17, wherein said gaming apparatuses areinterconnected via the Internet.
 19. A gaming apparatus as defined inclaim 13, wherein said controller is communicatively linked to a lotterysystem.
 20. A gaming apparatus as defined in claim 13, wherein saidcontroller is programmed to deduct from a user's winnings the costassociated with the lottery ticket.
 21. A gaming apparatus as defined inclaim 13, wherein said controller is programmed to access a lotterysystem and report to the user prior winning lottery indicia.
 22. Agaming apparatus as defined in claim 13, wherein said lottery ticket isassociated with one of a casino-based lottery, a state-based lottery,and a multistate lottery.
 23. A gaming apparatus as defined in claim 13,wherein said controller is programmed to dispense scratch-off typelottery tickets.
 24. A gaming apparatus, comprising: a display unit thatis capable of generating video images; a value input device; acontroller operatively coupled to said display unit and said value inputdevice, said controller comprising a processor and a memory operativelycoupled to said processor, said controller being programmed to allow aperson to make a wager, said controller being programmed to allow aperson to make a payline selection, said controller being programmed tocause a video image to be generated on said display unit, said videoimage comprising a plurality of simulated slot machine reels of a slotsgame, each of said slot machine reels having a plurality of slot machinesymbols, said controller being programmed to determine a value payoutassociated with an outcome of said slots game, said controller beingprogrammed to determine said outcome of said slots game based on aconfiguration of said slot machine symbols; and a lottery ticketdispenser operatively linked to said controller and adapted to dispenselottery tickets bearing generated lottery indicia in response to asignal received from said controller.
 25. A gaming apparatus as definedin claim 24, wherein said controller is programmed to allow a user toselect a indicia of paylines.
 26. A gaming apparatus as defined in claim24, wherein said lottery tickets are printed by one of a lottery ticketdispenser and a lottery ticket reader/printer.
 27. A gaming systemcomprising a plurality of gaming apparatuses as defined in claim 24,said gaming apparatuses being interconnected to form a network of gamingapparatuses.
 28. A gaming system as defined in claim 27, wherein saidgaming apparatuses are interconnected via the Internet.
 29. A gamingapparatus as defined in claim 24, wherein said controller iscommunicatively linked to a lottery system.
 30. A gaming apparatus asdefined in claim 24, wherein said controller is programmed to deductfrom a user's winnings the cost associated with the lottery ticket. 31.A gaming method comprising: causing a video image representing a game tobe generated, said video image representing one of the following games:video poker, video blackjack, video slots, video keno or video bingo,said video image comprising an image of at least five playing cards ifsaid game comprises video poker, said video image comprising an image ofa plurality of simulated slot machine reels if said game comprises videoslots, said video image comprising an image of a plurality of playingcards if said game comprises video blackjack, said video imagecomprising an image of a plurality of keno indicia if said gamecomprises video keno, and said video image comprising an image of abingo grid if said game comprises video bingo; determining an outcome ofsaid game represented by said video game image; determining a valuepayout associated with said outcome of said game; and dispensing alottery ticket bearing lottery indicia.
 32. A gaming method as definedin claim 31, further comprising determining if a user desires a lotteryticket to be dispensed.
 33. A gaming method as defined in claim 31,further comprising requesting a user to provide a plurality of lotteryindicia.
 34. A gaming method as defined in claim 31, further comprisingcommunicatively linking the lottery ticket dispenser to a lotterysystem.
 35. A gaming apparatus, comprising: a controller programmed toplay a first game and to allow a user to wager on the outcome of saidfirst game, wherein said controller is further programmed to receiverequests to dispense lottery tickets; and a lottery ticket dispenseroperatively linked to said controller and adapted to dispense a lotteryticket bearing lottery indicia, for entry into second game, in responseto a signal received from said controller.
 36. A gaming systemcomprising a plurality of gaming apparatuses as defined in claim 35,said gaming apparatuses being interconnected to form a network of gamingapparatuses.
 37. A gaming system as defined in claim 36, wherein saidgaming apparatuses are interconnected via the Internet.
 38. A gamingapparatus as defined in claim 35, wherein said controller iscommunicatively linked to a lottery system.
 39. A gaming apparatus asdefined in claim 35, wherein said controller is programmed to dispensescratch-off type lottery tickets.
 40. A gaining apparatus as defined inclaim 35, wherein said lottery ticket dispenser and said controller areadapted to read and validate lottery tickets.
 41. A method ofdetermining the win status of a lottery ticket comprising: providing agaming apparatus adapted to play one of the following games: videopoker, video blackjack, video slots, video keno or video bingo, thegaming apparatus having a display unit that is capable of generatingvideo images, a controller operatively coupled to said display unit, anda lottery ticket reader/printer operatively linked to said controller;inserting a lottery ticket into the lottery ticket reader/printer;assessing whether the lottery ticket is a winner; and relaying whetherthe lottery ticket is a winner to a player.
 42. The method of claim 41further comprising validating the lottery ticket.
 43. The method ofclaim 41 further comprising redeeming value for the lottery ticket. 44.A gaming apparatus, comprising: a controller programmed to play a firstgame and to allow a user to wager on the outcome of said first game,wherein said controller is further programmed to receive requests todispense lottery tickets; and a lottery ticket reader operatively linkedto said controller and adapted to read a lottery ticket bearing lotteryticket identifiable information.
 45. A gaming system comprising aplurality of gaming apparatuses as defined in claim 44, said gamingapparatuses being interconnected to form a network of gamingapparatuses.
 46. A gaming apparatus as defined in claim 44, wherein saidcontroller is communicatively linked to a lottery system.
 47. A gamingapparatus as defined in claim 44, wherein said lottery ticket reader andsaid controller are adapted to validate lottery tickets.